The Tales We Live
by vividfantasy7
Summary: Royal AU: Gramorr never happened, the twins are actually Iris's cousins, royal shenanigans ensue
1. Ghost

Royal AU: Gramorr never happened, the twins are actually Iris's cousins, royal shenanigans ensue

Vignettes, drabbles, one-shots, interconnected chapters, whatevers

 _Shamelessly_ Talisto

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Chapter 1 - Ghost

Mephisto couldn't remember when was the first time he heard of Talia being able to see ghosts. He only remembered that he was ten when he ' _officially_ ' learnt about it, that is when they met the princess for the first time since her apprenticeship started.

Nevertheless he and Praxina had teased the hell out of the blunette princess, at least until Carissa had enough and threatened bodily harm if they didn't stop it - plus Izira had been glaring at them too which they both knew would not end well if they didn't stop-, so they had ceased with it. Not saying they hadn't brought it up every once and again but it was slight and in good humor.

(On the other hand, both him and Praxina - and Prax could be scary as hell if she so wanted - brought hell upon those who tried to bully her about it, after all it was _their_ privilege.)

They were fourteen the first time he witnessed it. There was a hunting in a prominent house of Ephedia's kingdom and the younger Xerian princess had been brought to the castle to cast the spell necessary to stop the apparition. It had been fairly formal, nobles flocking to watch the young girl perform a unique spell like she was some kind of attraction. It left him with a bad taste - and Iris and Praxina too who were present at the time, as he later learnt - and at that moment he resented her powers. When he asked the princess about it, she shrugged though a scowl marred her features.

"I'm doing this for those who couldn't move on, not the idiots who are scared." It seemed a bit rehearsed like she had been telling herself the same thing trying to convince herself but the determination glowing in her eyes told a different story. He nodded in understanding and offered Praxina and his services anytime she felt like revenge should be extracted. Praxina said not to make promises in her name but agreed none the less, as did Iris, and later on Auriana, Lyna and Carissa when the twins brought up what happened.

He was sixteen when he first learned what that particular sentence really meant. They were all visiting Volta for a few weeks during the summer, this time with some prince from Earth joining the club - he was arranged to marry Iris and while there were a few meetups and playdates before this was the first time they would spend a longer interval together. They, meaning Auriana, Carissa, Iris, Lyna, Praxina, Talia and himself as well as Nathaniel and few friends of his - Doug, Matt and Zack -, were lodged into one of Auriana's family's summer home. It was small compared to the noble castles nearby, but could still easily house twenty people plus the help.

The weeks went quickly and it seemed Iris wasn't the only one who hit it off nicely with her beau - Auriana and Matt became inseparable (it was so disgustingly sweet he thought he might get sick one of these days) while Doug seemed stuck between Carissa and Lyna (Mephisto didn't blame him, those two could be ridiculously hard to read sometimes) and even his sister seemed to take an interest in Zack (kinda creepy, plus he had to intimidate the guy too). So with all the heart-eyes going around he was left to seek out the Xerian princess as she was the only one besides himself not drooling after someone or other at the moment.

So it was under these circumstances that one night he sneaked away from his sister, cousin and their equally starry eyed friends in search of the blunette in hope of a decent conversation that did not involve boys - or at least not in the way it did with the above mentioned ladies.

He found her in the gardens, her back to him as she sat upon a marble bench illuminated by the moon. He took a deep breath as he took in her glowing form and felt his heartbeat quicken as her serene voice reached his ears. The melody was unfamiliar and he couldn't yet hear the lyrics but it suddenly felt like his heart had been wrenched out. He took a few steps closer to hear it better but stopped short his hand going to his mouth and covering it in an attempt to muffle the quite undignified scream that tried to leave him. Because not a foot before him a ghost stopped, looking through him as if he weren't even there - but it was enough to give him a heart attack, he never saw a ghost before - then flew back to his princess. That was when he realised it was not the moon that made her appear to glow, but the magic that came with her singing and created a circle under her and that her song turned out to be a spell all along.

He gulped as he stepped closer - he really didn't like ghosts, okay? - trying to get a glimpse at Talia's face as the spirits in the area gathered around her and with a light glow slowly dissolved into nothing. The magic circle under her disappeared and the glow died down, the Xerian princess finally opening her eyes before whipping her head around - he stepped on some fallen branch - her questioning gaze falling on him.

"Mephisto? What are you doing here?" her confusion quickly turned to a frown as he went about trying to find her and then he found her but she was surrounded with all these creepy ghosts and it was cool by the way but he was still majorly grossed out by all the spirits. His rambling was met with a hissed "And I thought you were better than the rest of them," and a "Just what do you think they were before they died? I tell you what, they were humans!" before she stormed away. She did not come out of her room the next day and gave him the silent treatment for the rest of their vacation.

He only learned after getting home from Iris what was the source of Talia's anger. Apparently, her late nanny, who had moved to a noble family to carry on her work, had died. And because of the ill treatment the family bestowed upon her she couldn't rest in peace and haunted the noble's castle. Needless to say, it was Talia who had been brought to cleanse the place and she only realized who she was using her spell on when the apparition changed back to her original form with a terrified scream.

When Iris questioned how could he have forgotten this, _they were there dammit_ , it was Praxina who came to his defense against their cousin, reminding the crown princess they were otherwise occupied with family matters and thus did not join her for that particular trip. Iris coloured when she realised the truth of the statement and apologised for not telling sooner.

Mephisto himself swallowed his pride and apologized to Talia explaining he didn't know about her nanny. She accepted the apology and even given her own for getting so angry at him but she still made sure he did not see her performing any ghost related spell - if she could help it that is.

He's now nineteen and it's Iris's birthday party, which meant a lot of guests from a lot of kingdoms that needed attending to and really he should be saving Praxina from obnoxious and boring old men and not stalking his favourite princess into the relative privacy of the royal gardens (he really wanted a dance but she kept slipping away from him). When he finally found her she was singing under the moonlight and a feeling of deja vu encased him as he inspected the magic circle and the incorporeal glowing forms flowing before her.

As he went closer his heart came to a stop - the ghost were just children and while Talia's eyes were closed tears clearly glistened on her face. Without thinking he closed the distance between them grabbing her hand and intervening her fingers with his, earning a confused frown as her eyes snapped open and she turned to him as he stood beside her, gaze firmly on the children and a warm smile splitting his face (it didn't reach his eyes. These were just _children_.)

The Xerian princess never stopped singing and Mephisto could feel her intense gaze fall from him. He squeezed her hand in reassurance and her singing grew stronger just like the circle's glow and the children disappeared with heartfull laughter (he never heard the sound of the ghosts before).

He stood for a few seconds, his mind drinking in all that happened, before he cautiously turned around to his princess. There were tears rolling down her face and she seemed to be trying to hold back sobs that were desperate to break free. Her hand squeezed his, her free one balling into a fist as she tried to repress her shivers. It took him all but a moment before he enveloped her in his embrace and another before she finally let herself cry into the soft material of his shirt. He kept murmuring reassurances into her hair while wishing he could be holding her under different circumstances.

Afterall he had a crush on her for circa three years, though he hadn't exactly realised it until the Kyle fiasco that thankfully didn't work out and on hindsight probably both Praxina and Iris had to do with that - not Auriana, she was pretty set on them being true loves, though when the redhead finally learnt of his feelings she had no calms supporting him. Nevertheless, he had been pining after her for the last two years and just couldn't find the courage to ask for her permission to court her. Or to put it another way; he was a coward. And it wasn't like he had no opportunity, the girls made sure he had chances left and right but he seemed to screw it up royally every time. Not to say he wasn't flirting incessantly but it seemed she just learnt to accept it as a new quirk of his (not that it stopped him, but still).

And now, here he was comforting her in a secluded part of the garden- wait, scratch that. He could hear several people getting closer and without thinking he teleported them to her balcony - it was pretty handy she always stayed in the same chambers during her visits. But the sudden change had brought her out of her discomfort and she pulled back slightly trying to inspect her new surrounding.

"Why have you brought me here?" Talia questioned as her gaze fall upon his olive orbs and the burgundy haired teen felt a blush creep up his neck and reach his ears as he took in her face. There were still tears glistening in her eyes, a vulnerable expression crossing her face - and that was a rare sight to be bestowed, mind you - her golden orbs glowing as she kept gazing at him probably waiting for an answer. An answer he couldn't give as he was way too mesmerized to process anything, really.

So he just went on instinct and pulled her close once again, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead and holding her long enough where it was strictly not appropriate even between friends. He felt her hands push against his chest and his heart fell as he complied to her wishes, his hand falling limply to his sides. He felt too embarrassed to look her in the eyes and opted to turn his gaze on the railing of the balcony. A 'tsk'-ing sound had brought his misery deeper before there were warm hands encasing his burning cheeks and yanking his face down to meet his princess' soft lips.

It took him a few seconds to process what was happening but it was enough time for Talia to pull back, it seemed this time it was her turn to avoid his eyes as a scarlet tint colored her cheeks. He felt a happy grin split his face as a chuckle broke from his mouth and before she could question him he brought her back into his embrace crushing his lips into hers, the smile never leaving his face.

He felt her lips move against his as her hand wandered up to play with the hair at the nape his neck while her other hand disappeared into his violet tresses. His own hands had slowly moved to her waist between her gentle kisses, her smile stretching on her face as neither of them could stop laughing. As they pulled apart for air he opened his eyes drinking in her rosy cheeks and still closed eyes as she took fortifying breaths before he kissed her again, nibbling at her bottom lip playfully. He felt her smirk into the kiss before granting him entrance and he deepened the kiss without preamble, too intoxicated on her taste to care about much else. His hand wandered up to hold her neck and intervened his fingers in her teal locks before it went to caress her face while her fingers raked through his hair eliciting a hiss from him and a chuckle from her.

Too bad everything had to end as their kissing session was brought to a sudden stop as a shouting voice emanated from Talia's chambers. And seeing as they recognized the voice as Izira's the two reluctantly pulled away, faces glowing a scarlet hue and gazing into each other's eyes, before Talia took a steadying breath and told him to go before Izira found him and skinned him alive (pretty overprotective big sis there).

He threw a glance over his shoulder before turning back to his princess and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips before teleporting away into the safety of his own room. He collapsed on his bed with a giant grin splitting his face, cheeks still burning as he tried to process what just transpired. (He kissed Talia! And she kissed him back! This was honestly too good to be true!)

In the end he came to the conclusion that he could take on ghosts any day if it meant spending time with his favourite princess (and that his chances of courting her kinda skyrocketed) before he headed out to save Praxina from obnoxious and boring old men.


	2. Thief

Introducing Lev!

 _One-sided_ LevIris

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Thief

The tip of a cool blade to the back of his neck alerted the thief to the presence of someone being in the room that he failed to sense earlier.

 _Well now._

Lev turned ever so slowly, hands raised in the air, teal eyes tracing the crystal weapon still angled at him up to a delicate hand holding it with practiced ease, up the fabric clad arm attached, the delicate curve of a neck and a heart shaped face housing the most gorgeous ocean orbs he ever laid eyes upon. And that was saying something, mind you. Blonde hair framed a vicious expression of furrowed brows and a charming frown and the blond felt a smirk work it's way over his face as he drank in the sight before him.

"Princess Iris," the male bowed slightly, mindful of the sword still poking his throat, watching in glee the slightest flicker of surprise dance across those azure eyes. His smirk widened at her expertly schooled features - if he wouldn't have been so well-versed in the art of reading people he would have never seen through her masked emotions. But alas it was in his job description, and in that moment he was extremely happy for it.

"Who are you?" the princess asked and he made to push away the sword with his fingers but she kept it steadily, her eyes narrowing and chin rising slightly to glare at him. He shrugged innocently and put his hand down.

"Nothing but a simple citizen of this magnificent country, Princess."

"Thief, then."

"That is incredible prejudice there, _Your Majesty_ " the blond managed a hurt expression his hand rising to clutch at the fabric on his chest before dropping and grinning wolfishly, "I could be here to kidnap you." The sword disappeared as Iris snorted and put her hands on her hips. He watched as her blonde hair turned into a vibrant pink color, making her eyes stand out even more on her lovely face. Lev's grin widened as he watched in amusement.

"If you are," she started, eyes amused as she took him in, "you're quite off your game. I wasn't supposed to be anywhere near here in another three hours."

"And yet, here you are."

"And yet, here _you_ are," she sing songed with half-lidded eyes staring at him and a mocking smile splitting her lips. The male felt electricity surge through him as he catalogued the sight before him. After all, it wasn't everyday the crown princess of Ephedia flirted (however sarcastically) with you while you tried to rob her blind. Well, not blind. The blond was here for a specific piece of jewelry that his employer requested that was supposedly in the princess' possession, but he could not find it in her room. Nor was she wearing it for that matter.

"So. What are you doing here? It's kinda an open secret I don't keep any jewelry worth stealing for someone of your caliber in my room," Iris stated simply, when he raised an eyebrow at the statement she shrugged and muttered "Protocol," as way of explanation. Royals were freaking weird. And arrogant, greedy and uncaring hypocrites - of course nobles were more his base of bias as he hadn't really run into too much royalty before, but the thief had drawn his own conclusions of Ephedia's great and mighty. They had a hand in his creation, afterall. But the princess was right, there was no jewel that had picked his fancy on her vanity; besides a few golden accessories it consisted mostly of handmade jewelry (it looked suspiciously Voltan).

"Thus," he was brought back from his musings by her punctuated word, "as there is nothing of interest for you here, I kindly ask you to leave. I need to get ready for a ball."

"Aren't you curious?" Lev asked instead and leant back on her vanity, legs crossed as his hands found hold on the edge of the furniture's surface.

"About what?"

"Why I came? My name?" the blond shrugged with a grin when a contemplating expression settled on her face before she drew a shoulder slightly.

"Wouldn't it be a… disadvantage for you, if I knew?" the princess asked back.

Fair question. But there was something about her that drew him in, wanting to stay, wanting to prolong his time with the pretty pinkette royalty. His eyes shamelessly wandered over her form, the white and rose colored gown, her glowing ocean orbs, the luscious curls descending past her hips. He might not have found what he came to steal but that didn't mean he had to leave empty handed, _figuratively speaking_.

Without much preamble, Lev pushed away from the vanity he previously leant on and sauntered towards his unsuspecting princess with a cheshire grin overcoming his features. The girl's hands fell from her hips to her sides as she looked on varily of his progress into her comfort zone, and it was easy to corner her into the nearest wall of the room with a bit of careful directing on his part once she took a step back to keep some distance between them.

Her back finally hit the wall and he greedily closed any room they had in between them. Something warm flickered in his belly at the blush fighting it's way from her neck to the tip of her ears, her face glowing scarlet from his presence. His arms landed on the wall on both side of her body effectively trapping the girl. Her breath hitched as her hands braced on the cream colored wall behind her as she tried to shrink into it. His grin widened as his gaze darkened and he leaned ever so slightly closer to her, her eyes searching his before they flashed with something he couldn't recognize.

Iris leant towards him to close any remaining distance between them, tilting her head _just so_ before headbutting her assaulter with enough force to make him stumble back several steps. Clutching at his throbbing head - as it _fucking hurt_ \- Lev glared up at the petite princess who once again was pointing her sword at him.

"It's my engagement party today. I'm in a good mood," the thief would have been more convinced of this statement if she wouldn't have been coldly gazing at him and wouldn't have been speaking in a frighteningly blank tone, _considering the circumstances,_ "get lost before I change my mind. And for the record, if I ever see you again I'm going to dismember you."

Okay, so she was pissed off. Royally so. Yet the thought made him laugh, bubbling out of his chest and crinkling his eyes. It was a genuine laugh, something he hadn't had in years and this slip of a girl who refused to let him kiss her was the cause of it with her assertiveness and not taking his bullshit. He might not have pulled this trick often but it usually had either left him kissed senseless or being chased by a plethora of guards after being screamed at for agonizing minutes.

Yet all Iris did, _all Ephedia's crown princess did_ , was diss him and send him on his way. She could have impaled him - either by sword or spell - or called for the guards (and this time it might have gotten him more than a few nights in a dark dungeon). But she didn't. She glared at him and offered a way out and away from all this mess. (It's been so long since anyone had given that to him.)

His laughter died down as he let a warm, genuine smile make home on his face as he bowed slightly before the princess, ignoring the way her mouth set in a scowl.

"I'm Lev," he started, "I do not know the name of my employer but they are after your crown, Princess."

"My crown? Don't you mean my mother's?"

"No. They were rather specific of it being yours. And while I don't know who they might be, they're into the dark arts." Lev sobered as he pulled to his full height. "They used dark crystals to communicate with me," he explained to Iris once she raised a questioning eyebrow, sword still held high.

He backed away from the princess, -her narrowed gaze following his every step and making his heart race-, towards her window where he originally get into her chambers. He contemplated his chances one more time. The princess, as many royals, was well-versed in magic and combat and famous for being quite strong in both fields, as well as having the advantage of being in her own castle; on the other hand his employer was not going to be happy if he came back empty handed. Still, the latter would be an easier to solve situation than being tossed into the dungeon. The Royal Prison was actually notorious for being impossible to escape from due to the strong magic dwelling in the castle itself.

This dilemma solved, he hopped easily on the window sill and turned back one last time to give a devilish smirk to the pinkette.

"See you soon, Princess!"

An exasperated groan was the last thing he heard before leaping off.

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cuz I'm all on for Lev flirting with Iris like no tomorrow, while she gets all embarrassed and 'ugh whatever' but when he takes it too far gets all kickass and makes him question his life choices

then goes off to have a date with Nat :3


	3. Sky

Happy Valentine's Days guys!

it took like three weeks but i finally finished! also, cut the drama and left the light (and hopefully) fluffy part

on another note i shamelessly used one of kirei's headcanon where our favourite pistachio man teaches the blue princess how to fly =)

enjoy!

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Sky

"Ready, princess?"

Talia whirled around, light blue gown flowing behind her as she skipped to her window where the burgundy haired teen stood, galavant and elegant, arm extended in invitation. She smiled and chided as she dragged him off the windowsill and into her chambers.

"Mephisto, I've told you a thousand times already you don't have to do that," her smile turned somber as she gazed at her friend whose eyes dimmed for a moment before they sparked again. He bowed elegantly, quickly catching her hand and dropping a quick kiss on her knuckles.

"You'd rather have Prax teach you, is that what you are trying to say? You do wound me greatly, Talia!" the Ephedian teen faked a hurt expression as his free hand clutched at the fabric of his shirt.

Talia giggled at his antics as a blush warmed her cheeks before she pulled away and let him stand. The blunette princess shook her head in exasperation but relented easily. She did want to learn how to fly without needing to invoke magic by either word or gesture, after all the twins did make it seem so effortless and natural, as if it was as normal as breathing or walking - though maybe for them it was.

"Okay, so what do I need?" she questioned and his face broke into a grin - something she learnt she grew to like a lot these days - and she felt her lips stretch in answer.

"Maybe something less… princessy? And more magical training material?"

Well, that could be easily solved.

The younger Xerian princess closed her eyes and pulled her glowing hand over her form. She could feel the silk of her gown give way to tougher material, the dress turning to pants and shirt and vest, her hair working itself into a braid. Her head became lighter as her tiara dematerialized and reappeared on her vanity and she watched with mirth as Mephisto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like _show-off_. Hypocrite.

Nevertheless, he nodded his acceptance of her choice of wardrobe before he ventured back to her window and hopped back onto the sill. She followed him curiously and examined the hand extended to her before grabbing it and letting him pull her next to him. She watched as he stepped out without thought and turned back to her a few feet away from the window, his hand still encasing her own as he pulled gently, urging her to join him in his airborne state. She hesitated only a moment, taking a cautious peek toward the ground and noting the numerous level distance that separated them from the earth below, before her eyes found his and she stepped off and into the wind. His other hand found her free one, his magic working over her to keep her in the air before she could flow on her own.

He pulled them away from the castle and towards the nearby forest, the tall trees a good starting and resting point for her. They landed on a sturdy branch, his hands releasing hers as he hopped to the end. Her golden orbs followed his form, waiting for his instructions as she cautiously moved after him. Not that she had much to fear if she was to fall, she could easily call on her powers to create a slide to stand on even in the air.

"So, " the blunette started, attracting the male's attention back to her, "how do we start?"

"No idea," he stated with a stupid grin and Talia growled as she buried her face in her hands. She should have known. No, seriously, she should have, this was Mephisto was Ephedia's sake!

"Relax, princess, just kidding." He laughed at her expression as she glared at him through her fingers, "Well. Partly anyway." Her glare returned tenfold and his expression turned sheepish in answer.

"Look, neither Prax nor I actually learnt this. It just came. One minute we were playing on the ground, the other we were hovering near the chandelier giving Granny a heart attack," he explained, his hands moving in tandem with his words and Talia found she was not surprised.

"But it can be learnt, though you need a natural affinity to it. And before you ask, yes you do have it."

"And you know this how, exactly?" she knew her tone would turn more inquiring and blank as this went on, but hell if she was letting him off so easily.

"Does it matter?" Oh, _gotcha_.

"I'd say yes."

The male sighed loudly, his shoulders sacking theatrically as he sauntered back to her, hands falling around her waist and clutching behind her back. He pulled her closer as he let another dramatic sigh fall and regarded her skeptically before he shrugged and grinned at her once again, though it was more forced and evading than mirthful.

"Because you can sense ghosts," he stated then hurried on before she could get in a word of her own, "and I'm totally not making up. Looked it up in our library. Ghost-sense inclined people apparently are pretty good at learning this."

It took Talia a moment to process what he was saying but in the end she just gave Mephisto a measured glance, golden orbs boring into olives, before smiling encouragingly at him, her hands traveling up to hold his cheeks, fingers brushing the soft skin lightly.

"Teach me, then."

And he did.

Their first day turned into two, then three, then a week. Sadly after that their time together was diminished as Mephisto had to leave with Prax and Iris for home, but it still did little to reduce his enthusiasm, as he reappeared on her windowsill - apparently the ability to be able to teleport with the same easiness his flying came with was pretty handy to cut a normally few days long journey to an hour of dimension jumping - and their lessons kept on with a weekly basis.

Months went by, with occasional visits in either of their kingdoms or one of their friends's where they could pick up the pace again and again. She slowly but steadily learnt how to let her power flow through her body and consequently raise her into the air, so that it could come just as easily and naturally to fly above the trees as it came to race beneath them.

And Talia loved it.

She fell in love with the way the wind caressed her skin and played with her hair, how she felt weightless once her feet left the ground. That she could just take off and smell the flowers atop the trees, reach their fruits without struggle, ascend to the highest branches and tallest towers her kingdom could offer without effort. She looked at the scenery unfolding, gazing in wonder at the mountains, hills, forests and rivers arranging her home into a spectacular painting time and again. She would arrive in her chambers giddy, smile splitting her face and unable to wait for her next lesson - and maybe ( _just maybe_ ) for the boy who taught it all.

It had been roughly five months since their initial lesson. Lyna's birthday - and the consequent ball - had them resigning in Borealis for the coming days, but with all the commotion calming their friend came with - Talia was pretty sure there was a boy somewhere in that equation - had little spare time for her flying lessons.

Thus the blunette princess was surprised to say the least when there was a knocking sound coming from the window in the guest chamber she occupied - thankfully, _not_ with the other girls this time - and she wondered over to observe what had caused the crinkling of the glass. On the other hand she was quite unsurprised to learn it was Mephisto causing the ruckus and making her heart skip a beat - _in unnecessary worry, mind you_ \- waving at her through the barrier.

She had half the mind to just glare at him, pull the curtains and go to sleep - after all Lyna's birthday was just hours away - but her curiosity got the better of her and she unlatched the window. He grinned at her in greeting and she simply raised an eyebrow in answer, refusing to be the first to break the silence first. Thankfully, he had no such notion.

"I wanna show you something."

His smile reached his eyes, his hand extending in invitation and Talia did not hesitate to take the outstretched appendage, her magic pulling her effortlessly into the air and leaving gravitation to the wind.

Mephisto pulled her through the window and up, up, up into the sky, flying high above the trees and mountains. It got colder the higher they went and she was glad she had yet to take of her heavy robes from the day. Suddenly there was a heavy layer of fog and she instinctively shut her eyes as they dove through the condensated water in the air, but once she could not feel the vapour anymore she let her lashes raise.

Talia didn't even try to hide the way her breath stole away as she gazed around her in amazement.

As long as the eye could see, clouds sprawled under her feet, making the illusion that she was _standing_ on them and her gaze wandered around drinking in the way the way the plains turned to hills and mountains, as if the heavens wanted to imitate the earth below. Her golden orbs searched the end of the light until she met the blues of the sky - the sun sat already hiding its shine and let its siblings sparkle in the vast night sky. She wasn't sure how long she stood with her head tilted backwards and eyes drinking in the wonder above her. It wasn't that she never saw the stars before, but never with such clarity - there was no light, no trees, no clouds to hide them from her golden gaze. Plus, her kingdom's symbol was _diamonds_. Stars were her thing, _okay ?_ (Even if she didn't advertise it.)

It took conscious effort for Talia to drag her eyes away as she turned to Mephisto.

"What do you think?" his head tilted just the smallest bit, expression curious - and may be a tad nervous - as he flew closer until he was but an arm's length away, his gaze burning into hers.

"This is-" she had to stop to search for words to describe the utter amazement and wonder she was feeling at the moment "this is beautiful."

A grin split her face as her brain finally processed that she _stood upon the clouds to stare at the stars,_ and with Auriana-worthy giddiness she tackled her friend mid-air, a surprised squeak leaving him in answer - she's gonna tease him mercilessly later on about it - as they bobbed into the clouds, his hands secured behind her back as they free fell for the shortest of times.

Her breath left her in countless _thank yous_ that she whispered into the collar of his shirt, her nose buried in the silky material, her arms circling around his neck to hold him close. Mephisto raised them back up accompanied with brightly ringing laughter, his hold tightening as they once again flew over the clouds.

"I'm happy you like this," he grinned as he pulled her closer for a moment more before letting her go so he could look into her eyes, "but that's just part of what I wanted to show. Ready to learn a new spell?" She let him pull her toward a massive body of clouds, his glove-clad hand encasing her own one radiating warmth into her as he stopped mid air to turn toward her.

"Okay, the spell is Vertere Nubes," he explained as as he repeated the words, his hands glowing up with light green - almost white - energy as he directed them at the fluffy material before them. It swam into the heavy fog, circling around and up as it formed a column then another until six of them were made. After that the spell went above the columns and zig-zagged until an arched roof formed above the columns. Mephisto once again took her hand and gently pulled her into the pavilion - it reminded her of the one in Calix's Royal Garden - as the spell worked on forming cursive railings between the columns.

Talia stood in awe as she inspected the formation. She flew near a white and fluffy column, her fingers gliding through the material as she tried to touch it - her other hand still encased in Mephisto's - a smile splitting her face as she flew to another column dragging her friend along. He laughed good naturedly at her enthusiasm and answered question after question as she went on inspecting and investigating the spell.

"Where did you learn this?" she once again turned to him, dragging him closer.

"Talia, flying is my family's thing," he explained easily, a smirk stretching on his lips.

"That does not answer my question."

"Like we've been doing it for many, many generations."

"Mephisto," the blunette huffed in warning. Too bad he'd taken no heed.

"No, seriously, we have. It came naturally, you see," there might or might not have been an exasperated growl, depending on who you ask, "so after some time, we started to come up with spells we could use while like this. Flying I mean." He pulled her from the pavilion calling Vertere Nubes again and directing the spell to another fluff of cloud, watching as it zig-zagged and circled around the material until Amaru's form started to draw out from the white clouds with a smile on his lips.

"Well, those spells were mostly warrior spells mind you, but we had a few laid-back ancestors too every once and again. This was invented by Great great great grandma Luca," he explained as the spell swim around 'Amaru' to give miniscule details, "she lost the ability to walk but not to fly, or so the tale goes."

"And?"

"And, it's a tale from some other time," he answered, his tone light but his eyes told a different story. She dropped the subject instead inspecting 'Amaru' before her.

"This is really good," she stated in the end a grin splitting her face as she tried to change back the atmosphere to the merry and light tone they had previously. Thankfully, Mephisto rolled with her as he pulled her to another group of clouds.

"So, wanna do this?"

Talia turned to him, a mock contemplating expression crossing her face as she studied the clouds before her before turning to Mephisto and doing the same. She let a small smile play on her lips, toning the grins previously splitting their faces - she was pretty sure her face was going to hurt from so much smiling, yet she couldn't bring herself to mind it seeing Mephisto's answering smiles - before she gave her answer.

"Yes, I would love to."

"Cool," he grabbed her hands once again flying to another lump of fluffy vapor. He turned to her, positioning her hands for the spell.

"Okay, so, Vertere Nubes. Call the spell and concentrate on the form you want to appear, like this. _Vertere Nubes_!" His hands lit up two small magic circles with the energy traveling between the distance of his palms before heading to the cloud. His eyes closed in concentration as the spell quickly zig-zagged and soon a rendition of a tree stood high before them, the branches full with leaves and small flowers.

"Your turn, princess."

Talia called out the spell and watched as her own magic circles came alive and energy that was more her sister's color than hers started accumulate between her palms jumping from one circle to the other. She slowly turned to another group of water condensation as her eyes fall closed and let the magic zipp away circling around the clouds forming a less pretty and detailed version of the Mephisto's tree.

The blunette princess opened her eyes and inspected her work. It looked more like a 3D rendering of a child's drawing, but considering her artistic skills, it was pretty good for a first try.

"Nice," the male next to her whistled in acknowledgement, "knew you'd get it easily. Though maybe we should put a bit of practice into arts once we get back." He winked at her and she answered in a mock glare.

They spent the next few hours forming sculptures of clouds with varying degrees of success.

Talia tried to replicate the Amaru form he did, though it came out quite lopsided, then she decided to go with easier forms instead - various orbs, cubes and columns and a purposefully wacky rendition of the burgundy haired teen accompanying her. It earned her a mock glare and a light slap against her shoulder that she laughed openly at.

Mephisto on the other hand was a pro, no question there, easily sculpting clouds to resemble his sister, her sister, his cousin, flowers and cute animals and funny group pictures of their friends. Yet it was a picture of her, gaze focusing on the tome in her hands a small smile warming her face, that left her with scarlet cheeks and wonder filling her gaze with slight embarrassment - because, was that how he saw her? Don't misunderstand, she had no self-image issues, she knew she was pretty, dare she say considered beautiful, but she always thought beauty came more from character then facade - after all beauty was in the eye of the beholder. And apparently in Mephisto's eye she held quite a place in that matter.

She took a calming breath willing her cheeks to stop burning with less success than she was hoping for. Thankfully it seemed he didn't notice.

With one last spell forming a goofy picture of Iris and Nath clasping hands and hearts for eyes they descended back to earth, Mephisto safely escorting her back to her chambers, the sunrise still hours away leaving plenty time to rest and get ready for the day.

"Thank you for this," the blunette princess turned back to her companion as she stepped down from the window sill while he still hovered in the air, a warm smile gracing his lips and warming his eyes.

"Anytime, Talia."

He bowed one last time before disappearing into the night.

* * *

hope you liked it =) the 'contemplating life choices' will be in a different chapter

also, there was a question about if this fic will be continued

short answer: yes

long answer: while the stories will mostly be interconnected (but not necessarily) it would be out of order and way less plot oriented (if there'll ever be one) than character and relationship oriented


	4. Fury

i had some news and i'm pissed, have some Prax :)

* * *

Scarlet shards rained down upon the unsuspecting area, shattering everything in their way. Spells flew about as magic heated up the arena, sizzling and whirling, cracking the ground with red crystals and destroying the nearby columns.

A monster sprang to life and headed at the sorceress, powerful arms and claws reaching out to harm, but she flipped back and out of the way, her normally graceful and elegant style discarded to be replaced with raw rage, moves instinctual and spells unrefined. She growled as she skidded back from the force of the creature's next attack and sprung back into action.

Orbs of energy accumulated in the palm of her hands and smashed against the monster's chest, shattering it upon contact. Not a moment later a new creature had arisen, this time with wings and beak - sharp and deadly - aiming at her vital spots and keeping her distanced with the help of turbulence and wind. The burgundy haired teen frowned in distaste and took to the sky - flying always came as easy as walking after all - a spell leaving her lips in a vicious cry and rapiers materialising in her hands. She teleported before the bird, weapon raised high in the air and delivering the final blow. Praxina lowered to the ground, fisted hands shaking at her sides in fury as waves of energy pulsed off of her, shattering any of the standing columns left.

 _How dare he?_

Another wave of energy swept over the arena destroying the oncoming monsters before they could even try to attack the Ephedian female.

 _How_ dare _he?_

The memory of scarlet crystals colored with black resurface causing another pulse in the arena and Praxina stops fighting her anger and let's it flow through her and out of her system.

How _dared_ that dark sorcerer manipulate her? Attach strings and pull - like she was a marionette to be played to his liking. Like she was but an instrument in his game - a game she would shatter with her own hands - something to use when he finds useful and discard when not anymore.

She felt residual energy build up in her system and let it flow before trying to reign it in. Not again would she be a puppet in a madman's power play. Not again would she let him hurt her brother, her cousin or her friends. He wished to raise a monster out of her - of them?

Well, Praxina would be sure to return the favor and show him _hell_.


End file.
